Many many times I've come out against tick marks. Everyone says that it's fine as long as they get brushed off.

Not a bad arguement except that no-one ever brushes them off. In my life, I've never seen a tick mark brushed off by someone who placed one.

My latest example, Pervertical Sanctuary 10c, Longs Peak. It's got more ticks than the Black Canyon in the spring. Not a chalky hold mind you, a big thick tick on every single nub or edge. Ticked like a gym climb.

This is on a 10c (possibly up to 11a depending on who you ask) that doesn't have a hidden or devious move anywhere on it. I'm relatively certain that these ticks were put there by a big name climber who soloed the route last week. Fine, tick the route to keep your career alive (god knows your husband's is in the toilet) but rap the fucking thing and clean up your mess. You are a pro climber, you've got nothing but time. It's not like you don't have the extra half day to tidy up.

Why do climber's place chalk on features to locate them? This mindset is kind of odd to me. Kind of transforms a climb into a gym route and who wants that.

Working a route, going up and down, searching for holds, resting and firing a sequence is one of the great pleasures of climbing. Putting pieces of tape on features (oh I mean ticking features) seems to be a mindset that hopefully does not continue to grow and eventually fades away into oblivion.

Yeah I figured as much. Sadly I'm not up to speed on elite climber circles and was hoping you'd just toss it out there for the cheap seats. I suppose I could get off my ass and figure it out myself though.

the r&i photo of Dean Potter's new testpiece at Indian Creek contained more than a dozen tick marks within eight feet of climbing.

if you want to use chalk or tick in the desert, fine. just clean up your damn mess. it's really quite simple.

I understand how he'd be ticking the route. It's a testpiece. He's hanging on it a lot.

But I don't get why Angry would assume that Steph would be making tic marks on a free solo. I've not done a lot of soloing, but when I have, I don't spend a lot of time hanging out, marking holds. Not saying she did or didn't, or making any judgment about either - just not clear on why a free-soloist would be a likely candidate to point the finger at? Seems like a free soloist would be the least likely, no?

And now that I think of it, camhead, what makes you think he didn't clean it up afterward? If the photo was of Dean working the route, it makes sense he might be ticking it with the intent of cleaning it after, no?

Most people don't just hang out and get 10c (or 11a) ruthlessly wired at 13,000+ feet. They get on the route and climb on. If they fall or take, no biggie, keep moving cause the lightning could come any time. I highly doubt that the average climber (and this is an average climbers route) would lower off a pitch, tick it up, and try to resend it. This is alpine.

Now imagine you want to solo this route and have all the time in the world. Go up there one day with a partner and rehearse the moves, not because it's hard but because it's for a solo and you don't want to screw up. Pro's are chalk fucking crazy and even worse with ticks, so bam the route get ticked up. She comes back the next day with the solo.

Your logic follows if it were an onsight free solo or an impromtu thing. That may have been the case and I may be pointing at the wrong person, given the situation, I bet I'm not.

i agreed tix suck. there's so much talk about how unsightley bolts are and yet tick marks and chalk are rarely questioned, accepted as part of the sport. I don't know why poeple use so much of it, seems like most climbers just chalk up so they have something to focus on when they are freaking out. It's not magic dust and for the average 5.10 climber is rarely necessary. S

And now that I think of it, camhead, what makes you think he didn't clean it up afterward? If the photo was of Dean working the route, it makes sense he might be ticking it with the intent of cleaning it after, no?

GO

you're right, Gabe.

tell you what, I'll hike up to hong Kong Phooey next week with a pair of binocs and let you know whether he cleaned the ticks or not.